Open access gains ground

By Elizabeth Gibney. Half of scientific papers published in 2011 can be accessed online for free, a new study has suggested.
The level is about twice that previously estimated and is likely to cheer advocates of the movement to make the results of publicly-funded research freely available. 
According to the study – published on 21 August by Montreal-based research evaluation consultancy Science-Metrix – Brazil, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the US have the highest rates of open access publishing. 
In Europe, 20 out of 27 countries, including the UK, are likely to have tipped towards a majority of papers published in 2008-2011 being made available for free, it adds. More...